Participating farmers in the Dairylink Ireland programme recently started a monthly benchmarking exercise which tracks feed efficiency. Margin over concentrate (MOC) is what is left over when the monthly meal bill is subtracted from the milk cheque.
MOC is not an accurate indicator of financial performance as it does not consider other variable costs and overheads. However, it does provide a simple and up-to-date indicator of feed efficiency.
Concentrate is the largest variable cost on most dairy farms and, although it ranges widely between farms, it can typically make up 35% of total production costs. A key aim of Dairylink farmers is to use concentrates as efficiently as possible and maximise the margin which is left over after the meal bill is paid.
Five pieces of information are needed to calculate MOC: the number of lactating cows, monthly milk output, milk price, concentrates fed during the month and concentrate price.
Programme farmers use a tool on the DAERA website to calculate and record MOC monthly.
Dairylink participants are also involved in a more comprehensive benchmarking of physical and financial data over a 12-month period. This considers all aspects of each business and is useful in drawing up strategic plans for the year ahead.
However, MOC is a more timely benchmark which allows shorter-term decision-making to be based month-on-month comparisons. The data for MOC calculations also allows for other feed efficiency indicators to be calculated such as concentrate feed rate and milk from forage.
The figures for milk yield and total concentrate usage can be tallied up over a 12-month period. Many farmers get a surprise when they do this and realise that they are producing less milk and feeding more meal per-cow per year than they initially thought.
Weekly round-up
MOC is calculated by subtracting monthly concentrate costs from the milk cheque, and dividing by the average number of cows milking, then dividing that by the number of days in the month.Concentrate feed rate is the amount of meal fed during the month divided by the total milk output.Milk from forage is total concentrate usage divided by 0.45, subtracted from milk output.Farmer focus: Richard Marshall, Omagh, Co Tyrone
Margin over concentrate is being tracked on a monthly basis on the Marshall farm near Omagh.
Richard Marshall takes note of the number of cows milking and total concentrate usage at the end of each month. All the required figures are entered into the online calculator when the milk cheque arrives.
He started the exercise in autumn 2019, but retrospective calculations for the whole calendar year were carried out and show how factors such as stage in lactation, housing and weather conditions affect milk yields and feed efficiency.
Dairylink Ireland adviser Aidan Cushnahan said that milk yields on the Marshall farm varied between 28l/cow/day and 31l/cow/day from January to April 2019. Concentrate feed rate sat at around 0.34kg/l and milk from forage was between 6.5l/cow/day and 8l/cow/day during the four-month period.
“Milk yield per cow declined as cows progressed through their lactation but feed efficiency increased while cows were at grass, reaching a milk from forage figure of 17l/cow/day in June 2019, or concentrate feed rate of 0.15kg/l, with a corresponding MOC of £5.89/cow/day,” Aidan said.
By August, yields declined to 19.3l/cow/day and feed rate sat at 0.19kg/l. Deteriorating weather conditions from August onwards led to a further increase in feed rate in September.
“When cows started their winter diet in October, they were averaging 23l/cow/day, with a corresponding milk from forage of 8.5l/cow/day and feed rate of 0.28kg/l,” Aidan said.
NI average
Overall, Richard’s figures are above the Northern Ireland (NI) average. Margin over concentrate during 2019 averaged £1,587/cow, compared to £1,400/cow on average in NI. Also, concentrate feed rate on the Marshall farm stood at 0.30kg/l during 2019, which is a more efficient use of meal than the NI average of 0.31kg/l.
While a 0.01kg/litre difference in feed rate might not seem much, Aidan points out that it equates to an extra 75kg for a cow yielding the NI average of 7,500l.
“Across 135 cows, this amounts to 10.1t of concentrates, or £2,330 at a meal price of £230/t,” he said.
Richard’s figures also give an accurate handle on herd production during the calendar year with milk yields averaging 7,656l from 2.26t of concentrate. This equates to milk from forage of 2,626l and a concentrate feed rate of 0.30kg/l.
At present, there are 18 cows left to calve on the Marshall farm and 15 of these are due by the end of January. Only beef-sired calves were born from the start of December.
Five culls left the herd this week which left 117 cows going through the parlour on Tuesday evening. The herd is currently averaging 30l at 4.08% butterfat and 3.25% protein from 11kg/head/day of concentrate.
First-cut silage will be opened shortly and the new diet which is currently being formulated by Richard’s nutritionist should allow the amount of blend being fed through the wagon to reduce from the current level of 6.5kg/cow/day.
Read more
Dairylink: keeping on top of calf rearing in Tyrone
Dairylink: getting more from summer grass in Derry
Participating farmers in the Dairylink Ireland programme recently started a monthly benchmarking exercise which tracks feed efficiency. Margin over concentrate (MOC) is what is left over when the monthly meal bill is subtracted from the milk cheque.
MOC is not an accurate indicator of financial performance as it does not consider other variable costs and overheads. However, it does provide a simple and up-to-date indicator of feed efficiency.
Concentrate is the largest variable cost on most dairy farms and, although it ranges widely between farms, it can typically make up 35% of total production costs. A key aim of Dairylink farmers is to use concentrates as efficiently as possible and maximise the margin which is left over after the meal bill is paid.
Five pieces of information are needed to calculate MOC: the number of lactating cows, monthly milk output, milk price, concentrates fed during the month and concentrate price.
Programme farmers use a tool on the DAERA website to calculate and record MOC monthly.
Dairylink participants are also involved in a more comprehensive benchmarking of physical and financial data over a 12-month period. This considers all aspects of each business and is useful in drawing up strategic plans for the year ahead.
However, MOC is a more timely benchmark which allows shorter-term decision-making to be based month-on-month comparisons. The data for MOC calculations also allows for other feed efficiency indicators to be calculated such as concentrate feed rate and milk from forage.
The figures for milk yield and total concentrate usage can be tallied up over a 12-month period. Many farmers get a surprise when they do this and realise that they are producing less milk and feeding more meal per-cow per year than they initially thought.
Weekly round-up
MOC is calculated by subtracting monthly concentrate costs from the milk cheque, and dividing by the average number of cows milking, then dividing that by the number of days in the month.Concentrate feed rate is the amount of meal fed during the month divided by the total milk output.Milk from forage is total concentrate usage divided by 0.45, subtracted from milk output.Farmer focus: Richard Marshall, Omagh, Co Tyrone
Margin over concentrate is being tracked on a monthly basis on the Marshall farm near Omagh.
Richard Marshall takes note of the number of cows milking and total concentrate usage at the end of each month. All the required figures are entered into the online calculator when the milk cheque arrives.
He started the exercise in autumn 2019, but retrospective calculations for the whole calendar year were carried out and show how factors such as stage in lactation, housing and weather conditions affect milk yields and feed efficiency.
Dairylink Ireland adviser Aidan Cushnahan said that milk yields on the Marshall farm varied between 28l/cow/day and 31l/cow/day from January to April 2019. Concentrate feed rate sat at around 0.34kg/l and milk from forage was between 6.5l/cow/day and 8l/cow/day during the four-month period.
“Milk yield per cow declined as cows progressed through their lactation but feed efficiency increased while cows were at grass, reaching a milk from forage figure of 17l/cow/day in June 2019, or concentrate feed rate of 0.15kg/l, with a corresponding MOC of £5.89/cow/day,” Aidan said.
By August, yields declined to 19.3l/cow/day and feed rate sat at 0.19kg/l. Deteriorating weather conditions from August onwards led to a further increase in feed rate in September.
“When cows started their winter diet in October, they were averaging 23l/cow/day, with a corresponding milk from forage of 8.5l/cow/day and feed rate of 0.28kg/l,” Aidan said.
NI average
Overall, Richard’s figures are above the Northern Ireland (NI) average. Margin over concentrate during 2019 averaged £1,587/cow, compared to £1,400/cow on average in NI. Also, concentrate feed rate on the Marshall farm stood at 0.30kg/l during 2019, which is a more efficient use of meal than the NI average of 0.31kg/l.
While a 0.01kg/litre difference in feed rate might not seem much, Aidan points out that it equates to an extra 75kg for a cow yielding the NI average of 7,500l.
“Across 135 cows, this amounts to 10.1t of concentrates, or £2,330 at a meal price of £230/t,” he said.
Richard’s figures also give an accurate handle on herd production during the calendar year with milk yields averaging 7,656l from 2.26t of concentrate. This equates to milk from forage of 2,626l and a concentrate feed rate of 0.30kg/l.
At present, there are 18 cows left to calve on the Marshall farm and 15 of these are due by the end of January. Only beef-sired calves were born from the start of December.
Five culls left the herd this week which left 117 cows going through the parlour on Tuesday evening. The herd is currently averaging 30l at 4.08% butterfat and 3.25% protein from 11kg/head/day of concentrate.
First-cut silage will be opened shortly and the new diet which is currently being formulated by Richard’s nutritionist should allow the amount of blend being fed through the wagon to reduce from the current level of 6.5kg/cow/day.
Read more
Dairylink: keeping on top of calf rearing in Tyrone
Dairylink: getting more from summer grass in Derry
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